By Ed Frankl

Orders for longer-lasting goods in the U.S. rebounded sharply in November, and by more than expected, reflecting a potential uptick in manufacturing despite the relatively erratic nature of the monthly data.

New orders for products meant to last at least three years, including appliances, computers, cars and other manufactured goods, rose 5.4% on month in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, to $295.4 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The data has swung in recent months. November's figure compares with a 5.1% decline in October--which was upwardly revised from an originally published 5.4% fall--and a 4.0% climb in September. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected just a 2.0% increase in November.

Orders for transportation equipment steered the increase, rising 15.3% on month to $107.80 billion, from a steep 13.4% drop in October, the Commerce Department said.

Excluding defense categories, new orders jumped 6.5%. Stripping out transportation, new orders were up 0.5%, it said.

New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business investment, ticked up 0.8% on month to $73.97 billion, according to the data.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 22, 2023 09:03 ET (14:03 GMT)